Another father cried and spoke briefly about his 16-year-old son, Connor, whom he described as the "love of his life."

Christopher Harold Briglio and Connor William Graver along with 18-year-old Nicholas P. Coady died hours earlier after their Jeep Grand Cherokee slammed into a John Deere loader on Southeast Cove Road that was working as part of a road construction project.

"He had his whole life ahead of him," Harry Briglio said of his son. "What else is there to say?"

Lt. Chris Cribbs of the Florida Highway Patrol said investigators suspect alcohol played a role in the 2:05 a.m. incident just west of U.S. 1.

"There's no doubt that it did," he said.

Coady, of Stuart, was driving the 1998 Jeep east on Southeast Cove Road as the stopped John Deere loader faced southwest on the eastbound lane. Cribbs said the Jeep was traveling at or above Cove Road's speed limit and that the area isn't particularly well lit.

Cribbs said the construction vehicle had dumped a load of dirt on the south side of Southeast Cove Road. The Jeep smashed into the loader nearly head-on and rolled over, a release states.

Cribbs said the three reportedly had just dropped off another person before the crash.

Coady graduated in June from South Fork High School, where Graver, of Hobe Sound, would have been starting his senior year. Briglio, of Tequesta, had gone to South Fork, but was attending the school district's adult high school.

Jonathan Graver, Connor's father, cried during a brief, but emotional encounter at the scene.

"He's the love of my life and we did everything for him we could and just tried to make life so good for him all the time and make sure he makes smart decisions," Jonathan Graver said, standing by Connor's mother, Susan.

Nearby, a white memorial poster board on a utility pole with flowers lay in front facing traffic. Friends and loved ones arrived in twos and threes, embracing and writing notes on the poster board with markers clipped to the top.

On the opposite side of Cove Road, Harry Briglio searched for his son's remains.

"If there's any piece of him I can have left," he said.

Briglio wants to know the facts, expressing concerns about the John Deere driver and asking questions about lighting and flagmen at the construction area. The driver was identified as Pedro Perez-Espinosa, 25, of Okeechobee, who was not injured.

The poster board memorial was jammed with handwritten notes, one of which read, "You are all good friends and good people! I love you like brothers and I will never forget you!"

"Only the good die young," stated another.

Nate Pawlak, 20, said he's a 2007 South Fork graduate and regularly played golf with Briglio, Graver and Coady> He played golf the day before with Coady.

"Chris and Connor and another friend . . . we made it a tradition to play in a foursome at one of our favorite courses in Wellington," Pawlak said. "Connor and Chris always seemed inseparable."

Pawlak said Coady spent the summer in Jacksonville getting ready to attend the University of North Florida. He said Coady returned home to spend time with friends before the fall semester.

"I know he had big plans in college and know he had a lot going for him, too," Pawlak said.

Several white golf balls sat amid the flowers at the memorial, as did a football with no shortage of notes written on it.

Pawlak said Graver played football at South Fork.

"I always told Connor to stay low, keep his eyes up and keep his feet moving," Pawlak said. "If that helped him out in a game then I know I touched him a little bit and improved him on the football field."

Coady was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach where he died, while Briglio and Graver were dead at the scene. Coady was buckled up, but the others weren't, the FHP stated.

Charges are pending.

Brandie Koors, who identified herself as Coady's girlfriend, told WPTV NewsChannel 5 that the three dropped her off before the crash.

"I was going to go and check to make sure Nick got home OK and there was an accident," she said. "The cops were already here."

Asked if she knew her boyfriend was involved when she saw the wreckage, Koors said, "I had a feeling."

"My mom came and then they told me it was him," she said.

Pat Schmoyer, South Fork principal, called the three "great kids."

"It is a very tragic situation," she said. "We will miss them, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families."